New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1887-06-12
THE SHAME OF PARIS.
YEARS OF VICE AT THE OPERA COMlQub
ENDED In A NIGHT OF HORROR.

IN "A
rv,ou TIE REGULAR CORRESPONDENT OF THE rhibush'
I'm PARIS, juno /.
I,aver sow ANYTHING more awful or III Its sur
ronnfinq circumstances more Partisan than the
burning of the Theatre Comique. Nearly every
one lost head and nearly every one got III '"o
way. until the fire brigade arrived on inc scene VI
the disaster There are no people VINO 30 hlucn io
.onhIe MOS at n trough as the French whenever
+hore "a a crowd of them in which each individual
il intent ON the same object. and that selnsh
one unless indeed the regulation Oh the queue 10
enforced. Any one who sees them al the s'a'loh
of a street car in wet weather. OF on festive gay
when the supply of places IN these Vehlcies s no'
eouaI 70 the demand. can form some idea OF what
their conduct is likely to be under such strain as
fire. II is not the Republic which, as it is falsely
alleged. has. by breaking down disci-
nine. rendered the French incapable
Of keeping their heads cool when pressure
of this kind is put upon them. The occasions on
which witnessed the worst brutality In tbs
country were at grand balls at the IuIleries wneh
the doors to tho supper room were about 10 oc
onened aud Mt the only ball that Prince Napoleon
and the Princess Cotilde gave at the Palas koyai.
The other night in the Opera Comique women VINO
cot in the way Of male brutes were irampled down
aud in two cases stabbed.
Al the same time the architectural arrangements
Of every French theatre. save tho new
opera house, are 80 stupid that q crown
irving to get away from fire must needs
be as cool as If 1t wero American 10 keep
orderly. All the box-doOrs on the passage open
outwardIy. They are therefore blocked up II thefe
Is dense thrOng and they help TO DOCK ana eauso
confusion If they can be forced open from WITHIN.
rms accounts for the number Of persons found
deod in the boxes They could not get our once tine
Massage, cot choked up, and then were asphyXiatrd
nv ,nonoxide Of carbon. This gas turned tho
theatre into a leba chamber. resembling tine one
at the Pound where masteress dogs are gwen
their ouietus This poison is sure ana RAPID as
prussic acid. II was given out at the oper"
Comioue by the burning scenery. But since IL was
impossIble for the persons who had not maze tnoii
wav into the corridors be ore the stanipeue posun
to effect their escape, it was well for then 'na' 'no
atmosphere wGs imprcgnated with mis- poison'
Indeed. upder the terrible circumstances, one may
regord il "a a mercifui nepenthe. NOxlous
oases not only extiuguished human lie pu,
mt out the oil in few lamps which, IN virtue OIL
notice regulations, were placed In the passages
so when the gas was turaed OIL darkness re'gheu'
and the mob into which the excited ana muduIe-
headed crowd degenerated knew not whither they
were rushing. A score OF so rusneo GOWN s'a'I
into massage the door OF which was permanently
ed and WhiCu was TOO stiOhs W ~ h"NN'~@ $3.50
they were oyertaken by the monoxide of carbon
and must have been killed stralghtway en- masse.
The servants OF the theatre IN the upper rooms hau
M chance unless lat they could hope for by get
ting ont on n roof which In less than quarter oi
an hour was burned through. The service STAIRS
ware about the width of q stairs III river steamer
and nearly rs steep, but of corkscIew forIn' "h'cn
rendered descent for number of persons ont oil the
ouestion. there being foothold save on the woo
ends Of the steps.
Isaw some men OF heroic impulse in the crowd
ord vos Glad 10 see q strong aud general senti-
,nant of nitv for thoso who were vslbly In the
laws of n fiery death. There were men VINO
rendered eficaciouS assistance and at the repeated
risk of their lives 20 persons, VINO were on pal
comics at windows and on the roof when the whole
building was like blast furnace But II was SICK
eninc 70 notice the low vulgar form curiosity took,
the absence Of all reproach OF conscience or the
wish 70 get ont of the way when the multitude was
nalpably an obstruction TO the fire brigade Demos
was beng treated to grand tragedy In one act. one
,ableau and one night. and wanted to see out the
sombre and sinister and awfully impressive spec
.acle What was vilcr than anything else was the
cowardly rush off the instant the rumors ran That
the valid adults were going 90 be requisitioned 10
hand buckets and otherwise aid the bromen
General Boulanger who was IN the theatre when
tbe fire broke out, aud remained In the square out
side TO give hep If he saw his way. took upon MN.
self-untIl their own chiefs came-tIe COMMAND Vi
the notice II was, OWING 10 the choked mp state
- tho strcets impossible for tho tirc brigadcs TO
approach the conhagration. neral bouahger
was equal 10 the emergency. He - d Inc ponce 10
make believe there was to be universal re9usl-
tton of spectators for water-drhwing purposes
Then the streets were fairly well cleared as II by
magic IN less than five minutes General Dou-
LANCER also gave tho word for all the
COURTYARD doors 10 be thrown open. Policemen
nossed ON his order and called on porters 10 open
- rho name If the law" The old habit of obcying
authority came in here. and the benfcent but
wholly iile0al s,ratagem Of the General had full
srccess Americans will hear with pity that the
nrn,a conld not be brought TO the rescue within
forty-fys minutes after they were summoned.
never bebeld ANYTHING more hideous than then
posltion III 10 Rue de Mauvaux short and narrow
| street debonching on the Place dc POpera Conique
/ II was as full OF Sightseeing human beings as
bcrriug barrel Of fishes. There was no means OF
ro,nr back or forward until General Boulanger
| bentcent order went round for courtyard
doors TO be opened and hands to he requlsitoned
An order to clear off would not have been obeyed
! Demos vouId have resented being deprived of tn,
orandiose and gratis spectacle But as he could moi
resent being called upon TO make hlmseit useiui III
n humble way-and in the rain-he go. ont of Tho
way in all the haste 10 could make. Then th'
horses drawing the pumps were goaded on witt
bayonets There was other way to make then
advance
The fire was not the worst. What surpassed
everything else in horror was its marriage with
steam | believe there were more people steamed
to rags than burned to death. saw boi!e bodies
at the provisional dead house. They were boiled
to rags by the steam which made its way int
hooks and craDnies to which neither flame no
carbonic acid penetrated. Another feature OF tn
horrible event were the smells of roast and boiled
flesh. One would have thought that feast it to-
n company of ogres and ogrcsses was being go
ready. These odors have since been succeeded bl
2